Southampton Village closer to new top cop

Southampton Village has narrowed the field of candidates for police chief to three, all of whom are members of the department.

The three — Capt. Tom Cummings, Det. Herman Lamison and Sgt. David Dorchak — have each met with the town board over the past month, Village Administrator Stephen Funsch said. The village board will meet next week to make a decision, Mayor Mark Epley said.

The new chief will replace William Wilson Jr., who left last month to become chief of police of Southampton Town. Cummings has been in charge of the department since then.

Six of the seven eligible candidates from the village police department interviewed for the job. The seventh, now on disability, told the town board he was not seeking the job, Epley said.

“We had six very qualified candidates,” he said, “which makes me feel very good about the professionals we have in our police department.”

The village hired former Suffolk County Police Commissioner John Gallagher as a consultant, Funsch and Epley said, and earlier this week he held a conference call with the board to discuss each candidate. He is expected to send a letter with his recommendations to the board Friday, Epley said.

The board will either meet in a special session early next week or make a decision at its regular Thursday night meeting, Epley said.